Home Global Ties Mozambique court withholds export of USD 61m India-bound pigeon peas

Mozambique court withholds export of USD 61m India-bound pigeon peas

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A Mozambican court has ruled that a shipment of pigeon peas valued at USD 61 million belonging to global commodities broker Export Trading Group (ETG) cannot be exported to India, the latest step in a battle between rival exporters that have caused delays and pushed up prices.

A Mozambican court has ruled that a shipment of pigeon peas valued at USD 61 million belonging to global commodities broker Export Trading Group (ETG) cannot be exported to India, the latest step in a battle between rival exporters that have caused delays and pushed up prices. The Maritime Court of Nampula Province ordered the “suspension of departure and transit, by sea, of cargo in bulk and containers consisting of pigeon pea, soy, sesame, peanuts, rice, and corn, seized from the claimant (ETG). The ruling extended to major shipping companies, including CMA CGM and Maersk.

India, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of pigeon peas, relies on imports during the final quarter of the year before the new crop harvest in January. Over half of India’s imports of pigeon peas are sourced from Mozambique.

ETG went to court to prevent Mozambican-based Royal Group Limitada from exporting thousands of metric tonnes of the peas, valued at USD 61 million, that it alleged had been illegally seized from ETG warehouses. ETG also appealed to Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi for his intervention in December.

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Early in November, at least 150,000 metric tonnes of pigeon peas bound for India were held up at ports in Mozambique awaiting export permission from customs and pushing up prices of the protein-rich staple food. ETG has previously said the dispute with Royal Group arose in 2022 when a cargo of soybeans that Royal Group was exporting to India was held up over suspicions that the crop was genetically modified.